Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans he has to meet his Yemeni counterpart to discuss how aid can reach people in need without being intercepted and captured by Houthi rebels.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK remains extremely concerned by constraints on humanitarian access within Yemen. We regularly raise obstructions to humanitarian access and aid distributions with all parties at the highest levels and call for compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2451.
The Foreign Secretary discussed the issue of humanitarian access across Yemen with his Government of Yemen counterparts earlier this year, and on 17 July UK officials raised the issue with the Government of Yemen’s Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed in Riyadh. I discussed it during my visit in the Gulf region last week. The UK will continue to press this issue with senior Yemeni counterparts.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government has provided aid to the Government of Venezuela in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK Government has not provided any bilateral official development assistance (ODA) direct to the Government of Venezuela in the last 12 months. ODA eligible programmes have taken place in Venezuela but spend has been delivered through local and international non-governmental organisations and multilateral organisations.
The UK Government is very concerned by the growing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and we are exploring how best we may compliment international humanitarian aid efforts within Venezuela and the wider region. We urge the Venezuelan government to facilitate access to humanitarian assistance for the Venezuelan population.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the merits of using unarmed drones to deliver humanitarian aid in Syria.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Aid delivered by road by trusted humanitarian partners is by far the most effective way to meet needs in Syria and to ensure that it reaches those most in need. We have, however, examined all options as part of our determination to do everything we can to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.
Airdrops, manned or using drones, are not capable of meeting either the scale of needs or delivering many of the kinds of aid that could address the priority needs that we see in Syria (e.g. safe drinking water, health support). Furthermore, we judge that such an operation would carry a high level of risk because the consent is needed of those who control the airspace and those on the ground that could threaten aircraft. There is nothing to suggest that the Assad regime would provide such consent, given that it continues to use the denial of aid as a weapon of war.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the increasing number of drug-resistant malaria cases in Vietnam and of the growing prevalence of anti-malarial drug resistance in the Greater Mekong Region.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The World Health Organisation has a strong presence in the Greater Mekong Sub Region (including Vietnam): it continuously works with national governments to assess multidrug resistance and support policy responses. DFID supports the WHO in this essential work. Despite the real concern about drug resistance in Vietnam and the Sub Region, there has been a major decline in the rate of malaria cases and deaths. In Vietnam, between 2013 and 2015, the reported cases declined from 17,128 to 9,331 cases and reported deaths from 6 to 3.
Asked by: Graham P Jones (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the UK is offering to Yazidi people.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
UK aid is reaching hundreds of thousands of people across Iraq, including the most vulnerable groups, such as Yazidis. All UK-funded aid is distributed on the basis of need to ensure that no-one is discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion or ethnicity. The UK works with the Government of Iraq, Kurdish Regional Government, the UN and the international community to support the rights of all minorities and to ensure our aid reaches those in greatest need.
To date, the UK has committed £79.5 million to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.